Blurbs From The Borderlands
by GrowlingPeanut
Summary: A one-shot collection dedicated to Rhys x Fiona and other Tales From the Borderlands characters. Mostly non-linear, but some of them will follow each other or be different interpretations of the same scenario. I'm open to prompts, so if you want to see something, let me know! (Cover art belongs to the wonderful Bembiann.)
1. After the Dust Has Settled

**A/N:** Well…it's been a while, hasn't it? What did I say I was working on when I disappeared? Oh, right. PlanetSide. And Halo. Well, I lied. It's _still_ Borderlands. _Tales From the Borderlands_ , specifically. Because I am a die-hard Rhys/Fiona shipper. I will go down with it, and I will ship it in hell. And you can quote me on that, cupcakes.

Alright. So a few of you may have noticed a few things. One, I changed my username. Yes. It's probably going to be permanent. Two, _this_ is the _real_ **Blurbs From the Borderlands**. I changed the other one-shot collection to **Calculated Discord** , and it'll be all about Zer0/Gaige. So...you may want to change your fave/follow statuses to reflect your interests. Sorry for complicating things. *shrug*

Anyway. Not much else to say other than it feels great to be writing again, I love this pairing, and there are some spoilers for Episode Five. So…if you haven't played it and don't want spoilers…don't read it?

 **Disclaimer** : Not mine. They belong to Telltale and 2K and Gearbox. But I wouldn't mind borrowing Rhys for a few hours…or a few days. Or forever.

 **Read, enjoy, review, and share!**

* * *

"So, Rhys, now that all that…" Vaughn stopped short as he crossed the threshold into Rhys' room. "Uh...Rhys? What's...um...what's Fiona doing? In...your bed?" Vaughn squinted, making sure he was seeing everything correctly. And...yes, he was.

Rhys, looking smug (more smug than usual, Vaughn thought), merely glanced over his shoulder with a smirk and went back to fixing his disheveled hair. "It's not what she's _doing_ , Vaughn..." he laughed quietly and shook his head. "It's what she _did_..."

Vaughn's eyes widened and he looked back and forth between his friend and...his other friend. His friend who was currently asleep in his _best_ friend's tangled sheets. "You..." he couldn't seem to get more than one word out. He swallowed thickly as Rhys pulled on a shirt, finally forcing out a laugh. "Well...um, that would sure explain the noises—wow, really? You two actually...?" He tilted his head with a subtle click of his tongue, hoping that conveyed what he was currently trying to say.

"Yes..." Rhys answered slowly, cocking an eyebrow at him. "Surprised?"

"No, no...well...maybe a little?" Vaughn shrugged semi-helplessly. "I didn't even know you two were...a thing. I mean, are you? I guess opening a Vault is a big deal, so if you were going to make any commitments... I'm not saying you _shouldn't_ have...but...it's..." Vaughn stopped himself and took a breath. "Does Sasha know?"

Rhys' expression morphed from passively amused to horrified in a heartbeat. "...shit."

"Cause...they _are_ sisters. And...she'd probably want to know if Fiona's going to be..." Vaughn motioned to the bed vaguely. He still couldn't say it, for whatever reason.

Rhys slumped with a sigh. "Yeah...you're right. But...she'd do better hearing it from Fi…" he glanced back at the bed. "You know what? I'm...just gonna take a shower and let her sleep and hope that I don't have to say anything. Sound good? Sounds good."

He almost managed to brush past, but Vaughn stopped him before he could make it through the doorway. "Hang on. I'm not gonna just let this go, either. Is this all...pretty new, or...did you two have some kind of thing going without the rest of us knowing?"

"We…" Rhys cracked his knuckles. "There's always been some...uh...tension? I guess we just figured, hell, we'd come this far, why not...go all in, you know? And, um...we did—well, I did. Went all in—and...I'm gonna shut up."

"Yeah...that's probably good," Vaughn muttered, allowing Rhys to pass him. "But hey. I'm actually really happy for you, man. You and Fiona...well, I've always kinda thought you two would be good together."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It just seemed to...work. The more time I spent with Fiona, the more she reminded me of you." Vaughn shrugged again. "And...well, the fact that you two argued like an old married couple certainly helped."

Rhys rolled his eyes, but couldn't fight a smile. "I'll be in the shower if you need me."

* * *

Fiona woke up feeling warm. And...a little sore. She blinked a few times, turning toward the other side of the bed, fully expecting to see— She frowned and sat up slowly. He wasn't there. She looked around the room. Their clothes from the night before lay strewn haphazardly across the floor and over furniture, and her hat was perched delicately on the end of a bedpost. He must have picked it up off the floor that morning. "How sweet," she murmured, stretching and sliding out of the bed.

Wow, it had been a long time since she'd...spent the night with anyone. It had been...well, to say "unexpected" wasn't really right. They'd both been able to tell that _whatever_ it was between them was only getting stronger and harder to ignore as the days passed. Opening the Vault had apparently been the tipping point. Or maybe it had been almost dying. Or maybe it had been when he subtly confirmed that he'd been thinking about her the whole time. Maybe it was a combination of the three. Everything had come together so quickly that it was hard not to get caught up in the rush of adrenaline.

Standing in the aftermath, beside him...it seemed right. They'd already been through so much...why stop there? So as the day turned to dusk and the last of the color left the sky to make room for the stars, she resolved that she wouldn't try to fight it. Her entire life had been built around taking each situation as it came, and adapting to make it work. This was no different.

Still, she'd put up a characteristic (if minimal) amount of resistance as they'd talked about the future, taking good-natured jabs at him whenever the opportunities presented themselves. She knew he'd been chipping away at her willpower since they'd first met, and she wasn't sure she could hold out through one more sly sideways glance or confident smirk.

And when their collective restraint finally crumbled and she found herself following him through the halls of the fallen space station, back to the room he'd claimed, she didn't even mind. She hadn't protested when he'd shut the door or gently pushed her back against the wall and pressed his lips against her own. And she'd let go of the act altogether by the time the first piece of clothing hit the floor.

Shaking her head with a smile, she wandered across the room toward the dresser, picking up stray articles of clothing as she went. At least she could make things look a little more presentable if someone decided to come in. Before she could get dressed or glance in the mirror, though, a slip of obnoxious yellow paper caught her eye. Hyperion stationary. Of course. Tossing the clothes into a nearby chair, she picked up the note.

 _Mornin, Fi. I'm in the shower. Whether or not this is an invitation is up to you. -Rhys  
_

Fiona immediately felt her face turn at least three shades of red. How could that bastard be so charming on paper and make a complete ass of himself when he spoke? Gritting her teeth, she crumpled the paper, then grabbed the first shirt she could find and threw it on. Damn him.

The base was strangely quiet, which she was actually grateful for. The fewer people to see her scampering down the hall toward the showers, wearing one of Rhys' shirts—and nothing else—the better. She rounded the corner and crept into the big washroom as quietly as she could—not that he could hear her over the water anyway. Luckily, it seemed that they were the only two people there at the moment.

She shrugged off the shirt as she approached the only occupied shower, and hesitated just slightly before tapping on the wall. "This is the address on the invitation, right?"

Rhys responded by poking his head out and flashing her the stupidest grin she'd ever seen. "Thought you'd get a kick outta that."

She just rolled her eyes and pushed him aside so she could step in. "You're an idiot," she finally muttered, reaching around him to grab the bottle of soap. _An idiot that looks great with wet hair._

He feigned insult with an exaggerated pout. "What happened to all that sweet talk I heard last night…?"

"Oh, there's plenty more where it came from, you just don't deserve it right now. I shouldn't have had to run here in one of your shirts this morning. That's trampy."

Rhys scoffed. "Well, what were you expec—wait, you...wore one of my shirts?"

"You _should_ have been sitting in bed with some coffee for me, like a gentleman. And yes. I did. It was huge."

"I'm tall," he mumbled, snatching the soap back from her. "Besides, I'm not the only one who screwed up, here. At least Vaughn knows now. _You_ still have to 'fess up to Sasha."

Fiona's stomach dropped. She did, didn't she? And given the way Sasha seemed to feel… Well, she'd figure something out. She always did.

Her face must have revealed her thoughts, since Rhys chuckled. "Yeah...have fun with that."

She just sighed and focused on washing her hair. "So how'd Vaughn find out?"

"He walked in a few minutes after I got out of bed," Rhys answered with a slight shrug. "Saw you, and since I was cornered and it's _my room_ , I...didn't have too many options. But he took it well. Said he's happy for us and that we make a good couple."

"Why did everyone seem to think we'd end up together?" she grumbled. "Was it obvious somehow?"

Rhys smirked at her. "Oh, come on. Even we knew. We were just in denial."

She glared up at him, about to retort, but the sound of approaching footsteps stopped her.

"Fi?" ... _Sasha._

Fiona stole a glance at Rhys, who had frozen where he stood, eyebrows high, hands tense. He'd apparently retained enough of his wit to mouth, "Speak of the devil..."

She resisted the urge to smack him. "Yeah, need something, Sash?"

"No, not really. Just...wondering how your night went…"

Fiona swallowed. That sounded like a trap. "Oh...I, uh...slept pretty hard. You know, all that fighting and Vault...opening…" She dared another glance at Rhys and was pleased to see that her comment had provoked a rather furious blush.

"Yeah...I bet you and Rhys were both pretty worn out. It was...quite the day."

"Mmhm. Yes it was. So, um, how about you? Sleep alright?"

"Uh huh. Mostly. I kept waking up though...sounded like Rhys must have been kicking the wall or something."

"Yeah, he, uh…" Fiona could feel her ears getting warm and wondered if it was even worth it to keep up the charade. Sasha apparently knew, or at least suspected, _something_ … "Look...um...okay, I have to be honest—"

"It's fine, Fiona. I know what happened."

"I….figured." She sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't—"

"Didn't what? Tell me? Really, sis, it's okay. It's not like you need my permission or anything. We're all adults, here."

"I know, but...I thought you—"

"I...he's a great guy. And we're friends. But that's it. He's always had his eye on you, we all knew it. Anything that happened between me and him is...I guess I was reading too far into it." She let out a short laugh. "Wouldn't matter much now, anyway. He's obviously made his choice."

Fiona studied her toes. "You sure you're okay with it?"

"Of course I am. Don't be ridiculous, Fi. You deserve this. Besides, I could never really see myself ending up with a business guy anyway. I'm sure you two will make lots of money together. Me? I'm happy as long as August keeps letting me use his guns."

"Oh, _that's_ what you're calling it…?" Fiona playfully raised an eyebrow, even though her sister couldn't see the gesture.

Sasha snorted. "Shut up. We're...trying to start over." A comfortable silence settled between them for a moment before Sasha sighed. "Well, Vaughn's called a meeting for everyone in the executive breakroom, so...come join us when you're done. Oh, and Rhys? Don't think that I'll leave you alone just because I'm okay with this. You take care of my sister or you'll have that stun baton shoved up your ass."

Beside her, Rhys let out a scandalized yelp. "How'd you know I was in here?!"

"Really? Your clothes are right here..."

"Oh...yeah, I guess they are…"

"And after seeing what a mess your room was, I figured you'd want to clean yourself up a little. You should definitely wash those sheets, too."

Rhys just stood there, face red, mouth open, while Sasha's footsteps faded out the way they'd come.

Before she walked out of earshot, however, she called back, "And I meant what I said about the stun baton!"

* * *

"Don't think too much, you might hurt yourself," Fiona muttered from beside him.

He stuck out his tongue, but didn't tear his eyes away from the dark sky. "I was actually admiring Pandora's ability to make the stars look so good."

"Better than out there in space?"

"So much better."

Rhys felt Fiona shift closer, leaning against his arm. Finally looking away from the sky, he reached out and draped his arm over her shoulders. She turned to face him with a small smile that he couldn't help but return.

"You know, you aren't so bad, Hyperion," she joked, resting her head on his shoulder. "Or should I say... _Atlas_."

"You're not so bad, either. You know, for a Pandoran criminal. Or would you rather be called a Vault Hunter now?" She didn't offer any reply, just allowed a small smile. That alone was enough to tie a knot in Rhys' stomach and he gave her arm a light squeeze. "You know, you never told me how you got that scar." He ghosted his left thumb over the little nick in her eyebrow.

She groaned and shook her head. "You _really_ want to know?"

"Would...I be asking if I didn't?"

"Okay, okay." She shut her eyes and took a breath. "I got it when I was seven. I was chasing Sasha around and...I smacked a table."

"With your face?"

"With my face. Right on the corner."

Rhys winced. "Not as dramatic as I was hoping, but...ouch."

"I'm pretty sure it was bleeding for hours after it happened." She shrugged. "But hey, at least it looks pretty badass, right?"

"Oh, absolutely. And it could have been a lot worse. I mean, you could have gouged out your eye. Trust me, that shit _hurts_. Hurts like hell. Not that I regret it. Getting rid of Jack and all that. More than worth it."

"I still can't believe you did that," Fiona quipped softly. "The Rhys I met a year ago wouldn't have _willingly_ torn out his own cybernetics. For anything."

"Yeah...well, I learned a lot about myself after I came down here. More than I ever thought I could."

She made a small noise of agreement. "You've taught me a lot, too."

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "Before I met you, I thought I knew everything there was to know about people. How they lived, how they thought. And then...you showed up." She looked down at her hands. "You in your stupid suit with your stupid hair and your stupid habit of thinking you had everything under control when you clearly _didn't_." She picked at her fingernails absently. "And for some reason, you threw me for a loop. I'd learned how to talk anyone into doing anything, but when I talked to you, it all came out wrong. Nothing worked on you. You'd just...shout insults back, or fight my sarcasm with some of your own. It was annoying."

"Well, thanks—"

"Hey, hey, I'm not done yet." She swatted his knee. "But it was also fun. You were the biggest challenge I'd had in years. You just wouldn't give up when any other corporate dumbass would have left Pandora in a heartbeat, with or without their money. And then...well, after the money wasn't an issue, you still stuck around. I couldn't figure out why. At first, I just thought it was for the Vault. But—"

He placed a finger over her lips. "I get it. You're happy you finally have friends."

"God, you're an asshole." He laughed as she sat up and turned toward him. "Rhys, I'm serious. Will you just hear me out?"

He heaved a dramatic sigh, but humored her nonetheless. "Of course. Who am I to interrupt your monologue?"

"It's not a monologue."

"Feels like one."

"I just…" she shut her eyes for a second and took a breath. "I guess I'm trying to say thank you. For...being different. For not being what I expected you to be." She lapsed into silence once again, leaving Rhys to think about what she'd said.

He agreed with her. He'd had a set of (very negative) expectations the moment he'd set out for Pandora in Vasquez's car, with Vaughn and ten million bucks. Any hiccups they'd faced during the deal had fit cleanly into his assumptions about Pandora and its people. But...along the way, something changed. It changed early on. It had been the thing that compelled him to hang up on Vasquez. The thing that had quietly told him to trust Fiona while Jack screamed in the back of his head. Some little switch went off in his brain that made him willing to fight and peel off faces and even tear out his own cybernetics—and all for...what?

He glanced over at Fiona. The breeze ruffled her hair, prompting her to reach up and tuck the longer strands behind her ear. Swallowing a sudden lump in his throat, he pulled her closer again. "So...hypothetically—" he could feel her turning to look up at him. "If this you-and-me-thing ends up being...long term...would you want to stay here? On Pandora?"

She hummed thoughtfully for a second before shrugging and turning her attention back to the stars.

"Cause, I know you promised Sasha that you guys would go out and explore the galaxy…"

"Yeah, I did."

"So?"

"You know, Rhys...I think I'd be alright with wherever you wanted to be."

He laughed. "That's really cute of….oh, you—you're serious? Oh. Damn. Okay… That means I have to...uh, alright." He bit his lip. "...how about…Eden Four?"

She looked over, eyebrow raised. "Eden Four?"

"Yeah...it's, uh...it's where I'm from. I mean...I've seen Pandora...I could...show you where I was born."

She was quiet for a second, then leaned in with a smile, pressing a very faint kiss to his jaw. "Like I said, anywhere you want is fine with me."


	2. Definitely Not Concerned

**A/N:** Wow. Just wow. That's…pretty much all I can say. I haven't been this inspired in a _looong_ time. And it's all because of the following people: **HandsomeChef, Cloverleaf Neverseen, Katze Fisch Thunfisch, Harbinger the Reaper, Wash in with WAVES, John . Smith69, Kageshi Makira, BigbyWolf, TheHeartOfTheTARDIS, Farky-Fark and the Munky Bunch** (you're the Sasha to my Fiona, sis!) **, Deidon, Guest** (lol, hi) **, HusbandoGoddess, Cimikat, hawkstar's song, Alucard101, Hawk-sk, EinIII,** and **MussoTheMino**.

I recognize a lot of you from the "Rhys X Fiona Confirmed" thread on the Telltale Games website, but I want to thank _everyone_ over there. The overwhelming response to me officially joining the community for this pairing has been mind-blowing. Thank you so much. All of you.

Before I shut up and let you read, just a few quick things. Again, spoilers for those of you who may have not played the game and don't want to know what happens. Stop here if you're one of those people. Okay, I know Vaughn is supposed to be paralyzed following the "Trust Fiona" decision at the end of **Atlas Mugged**. Problem is, I remembered this halfway through writing this scene and already had some bro-tastic dialogue between he and Rhys that I didn't want to cut. So…Vaughn's not paralyzed here. Also, thanks to a suggestion from **ShadowMaster862** over on the Telltale thread, this now contains approximately 5% more Athena.

 **Disclaimer:** Still not mine. Still want Season 2. Still want Rhys.

 **Read, enjoy, review, and share!**

* * *

Fiona knew it would happen eventually. Away from the sterile air of Helios, coupled with the number of people they'd come into contact with, and the physical exertion they'd endured...it was nearly inevitable. So when she saw him curled up in the booth, bleary-eyed and wrapped in a blanket, she shouldn't have been surprised. Irritated by his weak, leisure-spoiled immune system, yes, but not surprised. And _definitely_ not concerned.

"Sasha, check the medicine cabinet."

Rhys shook his head. "I'm fine... I don't need anything. I'll—" he coughed. "I'll kick this in a few hours."

From the back of the caravan, Sasha barked out a laugh. "You look like shit, Hyperion."

"She's right," Fiona agreed. "And you'll be useless to us while you're sick." Despite the words, she couldn't stop herself as she reached across the table and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. She also couldn't bring herself to pull away, even after her hand had lingered a few seconds longer than necessary. "He's got a fever."

"I'm just bringing everything over," Sasha announced, setting a small box down on the table.

"Honestly, I'm gonna be fine. You probably don't want to waste your medicine on m...ohh...oh God."

Fiona frowned. "What's wrong?"

He moaned and shook his head.

If he wanted to do this like he was five years old, fine. "What hurts?" she asked with an exasperated sigh. She thought she'd receive a glare, if nothing else, but when he just swallowed and shut his eyes, that persistent feeling of concern only grew stronger. She was aware of Sasha's eyes on the back of her head as she leaned closer, but couldn't bring herself to care about what her sister may have thought. "Rhys, you've—" She was cut off when he suddenly dragged himself out of the booth and stumbled across the caravan to the sink. A few seconds and a minor convulsion later, and his head was _in_ the sink.

"Oh, gross." Sasha made a face.

Fiona chewed her lip. "Go get some more blankets, Sash. The sooner he gets better, the sooner we can find that upgrade." _And the sooner I can stop worrying about him._

"Is he throwing up back there?" Vaughn asked from behind the wheel, looking over his shoulder. "Rhys...? You okay, buddy?"

"... _peachy_ ," Rhys managed to growl before gagging again.

Fiona started sifting through the medicine box. There wasn't much to help the nausea, unfortunately, but at least she could lessen the fever a little... Maybe she could make some soup or something. Hopefully he'd be able to keep it down.

Sasha dropped an armful of blankets onto the booth. "He better not get the rest of us sick," she muttered, joining Vaughn by the wheel. "Someone should probably go up top and tell Athena not to breathe too much in here…"

"I bet she doesn't even ever _get_ sick," Vaughn mused. "I mean, she's kind of…"

Fiona tuned them out, sitting down on one end of the booth. It was...somewhat unnerving to see Rhys like this. Partly because he'd been perfectly healthy a few hours before and partly because, whether or not he actually _felt_ it, he exuded confidence. So much so, that when they'd first met, she'd relished anything that managed to knock him down a few pegs. Sure, since then she'd seen weakness from him, several times, but...this was different.

He was...helpless. He couldn't talk, or even fumble, his way out now. He was down on his knees—metaphorically—feverish, hurting. The familiar spark in his eyes had dulled, and it scared her. She knew this was only a stomach bug, around for a few days at the most, but it still scared her. So far, Rhys had been unbreakable, in his own… _interesting_ way. It was...what she liked about him.

But as she watched him dry-heaving into the sink, shaky, and even more pale than usual, she realized she _didn't want_ to see him like this. She liked the normal Rhys. The healthy Rhys. The obnoxious, yet still somehow sweet Rhys. The Rhys that had tried to steal her hat and almost ended up with a broken hand because of it. The Rhys that would stare at her from across the room when he thought she couldn't tell, and then quickly pretend he hadn't been when she made eye contact. The Rhys that she had...called a _friend_.

Shuffling footsteps jolted her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see him returning. ...Sasha was right. He _did_ look like shit. Any minimal amount of color had drained from his face, his hair was matted on one side, and his eyes were even more glazed over than they had been a few minutes ago. And yet he still managed to give her a tired, lopsided smile—just a slight quirk at the corner of his lips—as he slipped back into the booth beside her.

"Thanks for trying to help," he murmured, tucking the blanket back around his shoulders. "And...uh...sorry. About the sink."

Fiona shrugged, opening one of the bottles she'd pulled out of the box. "It's not like we use it to cook or anything." She tipped a pill out onto the table in front of him. "Take this. Let me go get you some water."

He nodded, starting to unfold the pile of blankets Sasha had left. "You...were kidding about the cooking thing, right? I mean...I'm honestly really sorry… There just wasn't anywhere else—"

Fiona sighed, pulling a glass out from one of the cupboards and filling it. "It's fine, Rhys. At least you cleaned up. But...next time, maybe just open the door?"

"Yeah, I could do that..."

"Driving isn't making it worse, is it?" Vaughn called back. "Cause...we can totally find a place to stop for a while. I know you get motion sick really easily—"

"I'm okay," Rhys assured, cutting him off. "But if that changes, you'll be the first to know."

Fiona walked back to the booth and set the glass of water down on the table. "Take the pill, and drink all of that—but slowly—"

Rhys shook his head with a half-hearted laugh. "I'm not a kid, Fiona. I've been sick before. I know what to do. Besides, I'm not sure I should trust Pandoran medica...tion...hey. This is...Hyperion-branded." He frowned at the pill, then at Fiona.

She shrugged. "You guys never switch up your supply-drop zones. We figure a couple bottles of pills won't be missed every few months."

He stared at her for a second longer before swallowing the medication and tucking his knees up to his chest. "I guess we should stop underestimating you Pandorans," he muttered eventually, picking at something on his cybernetic arm.

"You better not tell any of your pals back on Helios about this, though," Sasha threatened from the front.

Rhys rolled his eyes. "You're assuming I survive long enough to make it back. With the way things have been going lately…"

The concern that Fiona had been trying to ignore flared despite her attempts to push it aside. "You're not gonna die out here," she reassured, crossing her arms. Rhys looked up at her with a mixed expression of curiosity and… _hope?_ She swore she could feel her heart _twitch_. "Not with us around to keep saving you, anyway." His face fell as soon as the words left her lips, but she forced herself to go through with it. She wasn't about to compliment him. Not out loud. Not yet.

So she just watched as he broke eye contact and pulled the blankets tighter. "And I thought you told Scooter we were your _friends_ …"

His tone was light enough to seem teasing, but years of experience had given Fiona more insight. "I never said you _weren't_ ," she amended, gathering the bottles on the table and returning them to the box. "But that still doesn't mean you know how to fend for yourselves."

"Actually," Vaughn quipped. "We were doing fine before we met you. Rhys, tell them about what happened—"

"That...was mostly Loader Bot," Rhys interrupted with a sigh.

"Okay...well, what about when Vasquez—"

"Also Loader Bot."

"Even when—?"

"Just give it a rest, bro. You know she's right."

Fiona sat back down on the edge of the booth, watching Rhys as he huddled even deeper into the mountain of blankets. Maybe...maybe she should have told him he'd held his own so far. That he was learning. That he had good ideas...occasionally. He already felt terrible, and she was sure her attitude wasn't helping—

"I must look really bad, huh? You never stare at me this much."

"Um…" she fished for words while her brain caught up with what he'd just said. "I just…" God, how long _had_ she been staring at him? "I was going to ask you if you were hungry. For anything." She shifted, starting to stand up again. "We might have some—" Fingers around her arm stole any remaining air out of her lungs.

"Don't...you don't have to go anywhere—or...get up. I'm...not hungry."

His hand was cold, but she forced herself to stay relaxed, and offered him a small smile. "Probably better anyway, right? No use eating something that'll just come back up later."

"Yeah." There were a few seconds of silence until Rhys finally let go of her arm. "I'm just...gonna try to sleep for a little bit. Maybe I'll feel better when I wake up." He tugged off the topmost blanket and mashed it into a makeshift pillow, setting it down on the seat next to Fiona's legs. "And _then_ you can cook for me."

Fiona couldn't have replied if she'd wanted to. The chilly pressure from his fingers still lingered on her arm and she found herself fighting a blush as he laid down beside her. He could have put the pillow on the other side, she noted. But he hadn't. Instead, he'd chosen to keep it only inches away from her thighs. Any closer and he'd be sleeping with his head in her lap. Was she more likely to end up catching whatever he had? Probably. Was it worth it? Definitely. She smiled to herself. He was going to be fine.


	3. Second's Not The Same

**A/N:** I'm still full of ideas and inspiration, so you guys are lucky.

Many, many, _many_ thanks to the following: **Finny94, Ryuzaki 007, Liberius, Patient131071, Al2456, HeartOfTheTARDIS, BigbyWolf, Cloverleaf Neverseen, BounceQ, Captain Bunnies, Aquatic Smores** (awesome username, bro) **, WalnutRain** (also an awesome username) **, Anarchy in Dark Places, GamerAngel, gulapogo, Komuto Herovato** (um…I think?) **, Grant Stockwell, Promise of Happiness, Kage no yousei, pro2type, sbucks1998, MrNoobishDude, soulcasterfan, chuck101, Guest, Trifectum, lionel49,** and **luxite**. All of you guys, whether you're on the "Rhys x Fiona Confirmed" thread or not, have been so incredibly supportive. I couldn't ask for a better fandom to hang out with.

I want to cut to the chase for this one, and only have a few things to say before I break your hearts.

1) I want to dedicate this to **HazzatheMan** over on the Telltale thread. I know you've been going through a rough patch and I just want to say that the gorgeous, heart-wrenching fic you wrote inspired me to write this one. So thank you.  
2) This is kind of based off of the song "Is There Somewhere" by Halsey. I would highly recommend you listen to it before/while/after reading this. I've included relevant lyrics as part of the story, too.

 **Disclaimer:** Borderlands and the Tales from them do not belong to me, they are the property of Gearbox, 2K and Telltale. The song I'm using belongs to Halsey.

 **As usual, read, enjoy (or cry, in this case), review, and share!**

* * *

It's been years.  
She's missed him. She says this openly.  
She has to fight back a stab of jealousy when she sees the simple golden band glinting on his finger.  
...she _doesn't_ say this.  
"Seems like Atlas is treating you well."

He nods, tipping back the rest of the drink in his hand.  
"Hasn't been easy, but...what ever is, right?"  
He smiles.

It's a goofy little lopsided thing; mostly lips, just a hint of perfect white teeth.  
It makes her heart beat faster and she decides to lose herself in her cocktail.  
Anything to avoid looking at him.  
To avoid _feeling_ something.

"How about you? Any Vaults worth mentioning?"

She smiles into the brightly-colored drink on the bar in front of her. "It's more waiting and following false leads than anything else."

"Well, they don't call it Vault _hunting_ for no reason."  
He smiles again, wider this time.

It's more of a grin, really.  
He still looks so boyish, and she finds herself wishing she felt as young as he looks in that moment.

"But you...you're doing alright? The rest of the team's treating you okay?"

She feels a lump rise in her throat.  
Hearing that concern.  
Knowing he still cares.  
Pushing down everything but a smile, she nods.  
"They're treating me like family."  
The answer is honest.  
Which is why it chokes her up.  
Lilith, Axton, Gaige, Mordecai, all of them, even Krieg and Salvador; they've _become_ her family.  
They're the people she'll fight and die alongside.  
They're the people she'll spend the rest of her life with.

 _Even though it could have been him.  
_ She can't keep herself from looking at the ring on his finger again.  
It's such an innocent thing.  
Just a plain band of metal.  
But it somehow carves out a hollow space in the pit of her stomach.

His words.  
Before the Vault.  
 _I'm interested in someone else.  
_ She knew what that had meant.  
But she hadn't been ready.  
She'd been too eager to start her life. Her new life.  
And she'd missed her chance.  
And he'd moved on.  
To...  
 _...someone else._

Warm fingers on her arm jolt her out of her regrets.  
Warm...all except for the ring.  
The ring is icy against her skin.  
She has to fight with every muscle in her body to keep herself from pulling away.

"You sure you're alright, Fi?"

 _Fi.  
_ It sounds like something out of a dream.  
Sure, the others use this nickname.  
But none of them say it quite the same way he does.  
She can't look at him. She doesn't want to see his face.  
It feels like she's hit rock bottom already, but she knows that if she looks up, into his eyes, she'll be able to fall even further.

"You know you can tell me, right?"

Something strangely foreign starts welling up inside her, boiling in her blood.  
Sadness.  
Anger.  
Nostalgia.  
...hope.  
She doesn't know whether to punch him or cry.  
Or both.  
So she just sits there, silent, wrestling with this unwelcome chimera of emotion.

She can feel him rubbing his thumb against her arm.  
She can imagine the expression on his face.  
So she still doesn't look at him.  
She knows she won't be able to hold back whatever's trying to spill over if she does.  
Those mismatched eyes were always able to say more than his words ever could.  
And if his words _alone_ were tearing her apart...  
She didn't want to think about what his eyes would do.

"Fi, talk to me. Something's wrong."  
His voice is soft.  
So soft.  
Gentle.

And something clicks inside her.  
That bubbling feeling suddenly cements itself, dropping heavily into her gut.  
It's the weight of realization.  
She knows what this is.  
It's love.

And that's when she looks at him.

* * *

" _You were dancing in your tube socks in our hotel room...  
Flashing those eyes like highway signs.  
...rest your head upon my shoulder, just wanna feel your lips against my skin..."  
_

" _...And I promised myself I wouldn't let you...complete me.  
I'm tryin' not to let it show, that I don't wanna let this go.  
Is there somewhere you can meet me?  
Cause I clutched your arms like stairway railings...  
And you clutched my brain...and eased my ailing."_

* * *

"So...who is she?"  
Fiona nods to the ring.  
It's sitting on the nightstand.  
Next to the bed.  
She wants to cover it with something.  
A pang of guilt slices through her.

He sighs and presses a kiss to her collar bone.  
"Is now _really_ the time?"

No. It's not.  
But she can't just let it go.  
The last hour had been a beautiful distraction.  
She'd actually _liked_ seeing his ECHO-eye glimmer online as she slipped out of her dress.  
The dress she'd bought specifically for this meeting.  
The dress that now lay crumpled on the floor at the foot of the bed.

The soft sheets.  
His warm body.  
How everything just came so _naturally_ to them.  
How they'd fit so perfectly in each others' curves.  
But she knows it's going to be the last time as well as the first.

She needs something to remind her that they _shouldn't be here_.  
Not like this.  
He isn't hers to have.  
Not anymore.  
"Not telling me won't make it any easier."

He's silent and she knows he's studying her face.  
She just leans against his shoulder, tracing the tattoos across his chest.  
Memorizing him.  
Just in case it's the last time she ever sees him again.

"We met about two years ago." He begins quietly. "Through Atlas. It started as a...collaboration. On some weapon designs."

Fiona swallows the sour taste in the back of her throat.  
 _Collaboration.  
Thrown together and forced to work as a team.  
_It sounds too familiar.

"She and I had similar ideas. We liked working together. Started going out for coffee. Off-the-clock meetings turned into..."

She closes her eyes as he trails off.  
This hurts a lot more than she'd expected it to.  
 _Is she anything like me?_ she wants to ask.  
But she keeps her mouth shut because she doesn't know what will come out if she opens it.

"I...waited for you, you know. Year after year, but you never..."  
He breathes out a shaky sigh and runs a hand through his hair.  
"I wish I could say I'm sorry."

But he's not.  
And that's all she needs to know.  
That's all she needs to tell her that it was her fault.  
Her fault for resisting.  
Her fault for waiting.  
Waiting so long that his hope ran out and he...gave up.

The silence that follows lasts for several long minutes.  
Eventually, he kisses the top of her head.  
She swallows, hoping that when she speaks, her voice won't betray her emotion.  
"I should be the one apologizing. You...meant what you said."  
She knows she doesn't have to specify.

"I did."  
His breath whispers through her hair.  
"And, if we're being honest..."

She finally looks up, placing a finger across his lips.  
It's hard to force a smile with the tears burning behind her eyes, but she does it anyway.  
"Just don't say it, Rhys. It's better if you don't."  
 _Because those words won't change the fact that you're going to be waking up with someone else for the rest of your life._

* * *

" _Your girl's got red in her cheeks, cause we're somethin' she can't see.  
And I try to refrain...but you're stuck in my brain,  
And all I do is cry and complain...  
Because second's not the same."_

" _I'm sorry but I fell in love tonight...  
I didn't mean to fall in love tonight...  
You're lookin' like you fell in love tonight...  
...Can we pretend that we're in love?"_


	4. Sincerity and the Subconscious

**A/N:** Just a couple short announcements before I let you read this next chapter.

 **1)** The semester is almost over and that means spring enrollment and finals and research papers. Which means less writing out of me. It sucks, and I'll try to keep writing, but things just keep piling up with every hour that goes by.

 **2)** I've been in an emotional low for a couple weeks now, due to a mixture of factors and being busy with school isn't making it any better. So most of the stuff I write will probably reflect this, just a warning, I guess.

So now about the actual chapter. This is a collaboration between me and another wonderful writer, **HusbandoGoddess**. She's _so good_ at writing Handsome Jack, so I let her run wild with the first section and I'm happy to say it turned out a lot darker than I'd ever intended it to be. It's perfect. If you guys haven't already, hop over to her stories and read them! She loves Rhys just as much as (or possibly even more than) I do and she has the wonderful dynamic between Rhys and Fiona down to a science.

As always, support and encouragement are the best things to give a writer (besides maybe pens and paper...) and I am so grateful for the following people: **garedandbacon, Trifectum, Finny94, HeartOfTheTARDIS, Grant Stockwell, BigbyWolf, 7Arach7, N7 Elite, Cloverleaf Neverseen, Guest** (don't be afraid to come out of anonymity, friend!) **, luxite, BBBeast, NoTheOtherErin, LadyLuna0424,** and **King James10158**. Knowing you're enjoying my work and passion makes my days brighter.

 **Disclaimer:** Not mine, belongs to Gearbox, 2K, and Telltale, and I thank them for providing such wonderful material to work with.

 **Read, enjoy, review, and share!**

* * *

 _Where...where am I?_ I ask myself. My body feels relaxed...oddly relaxed. As my eyes are adjusting to the lighting, I turn to my right to see a small blue light emitting from the corner with blurs. I look down to see my arms resting on yellow armrests, must belong to a chair. "Wakey, wakey, Rhysie, I'm waiting for an answer." A familiar voice calls out to me, one that I can't forget very easily. I blink a few times, causing my eyes to adjust. In front of me, is Jack, in his blue pixelated form. "Ah, finally! Geez, you blacked out there on me. I started to get worried, like you died or something."

"Yeah...sorry about that..." _I think?_ "Can you repeat what you said? I'm a bit confused on the details." Jack sighs, not that I can blame him. He just wasted, what I would presume was, a lot of time telling me something and I didn't even hear it.

Jack sighs heavily and rubs his temple. "Fine. I want you to rule Hyperion with me by your side." _Rule Hyperion? With Jack?_ While Jack continues to name the positives, as I was sure he would, I think about those four words alone. I'm back on Helios, and this is so much more than I wished for. I'm not going to be the Vice President of Hyperion, but the actual President. However...with _Jack_? "Are you listening, kiddo? I'm not going to repeat this for a third time." Jack brings me back to reality.

"Yeah, I am!" I lie. Jack shakes his head slightly and this time, I listen with full attention.

"You could even take selfies with that con-artist babe of yours on so many different planets, Rhys. Ah, and don't worry, I'll be your wingman if I need to." Now that's tempting to say the least. I haven't been exactly able to show my feelings to Fiona as much as I'd like to. We often bump heads and rarely, we can smile at one another without any hostility behind it. Though, earlier Jack had mentioned how many wives he had so I'm not sure if I'm too keen on him helping me flirt with Fiona. That might make things much worse. I'll just stick with the selfies.

"If you and I rule Hyperion, you can help those on Pandora. Hell, you might even do a better job than me. What do you say?"

I can rule Hyperion, change Pandora for the better, and go to numerous planets with Fiona. That is, _if_ I accept the deal.

"Rhys, did you get the piece?" Fiona's voice rings in my ear. That's right, I'm with Fiona and the others. Vaughn is waiting back on Pandora for me and he's not in the most comfortable of positions. I'm here for my friends, not for Hyperion. Now that I think about it, I'm not here for Jack either. When has he helped me? The only time I can remember is his offer back at the abandoned Atlas facility when we got Gortys and while his plan to save all our asses seemed well-thought-out, I went for Fiona's plan. Not because I liked her, that was beside the point, but because I trusted her more with my life than Jack. Before getting inserted in my head, he murdered people...he's what truly gave Hyperion a bad rep. Why would I want to make a deal with him?!

"No," I jump out of my chair, "why would I want to run this hell hole especially with _you_ by my side?"

"Ahhh...you know, Rhys, I thought you weren't that bad. After all we've been through and what I taught you, you're _still_ an idiot. Just an idiot that _I'm stuck in!_ "

"You can kiss my ass, Jack and while you're doing that, I'm going to see my friends. See ya, _**kiddo**_." I salute with two fingers and begin to head towards the hidden passage to the place where Sasha and Fiona are waiting.

"Oh _hell_ no, where do you think you're going?" Jack asks me with a menacing face. I can feel my cybernetic arm swing behind me, grabbing hold of the closest armrest on the chair. I look at Jack, whose arm is mimicking my cybernetic one. With all its force, it pulls me back into the chair. "I was going to make this easy for you, Rhys. I was actually going to let you have a say, but now? I'm going to have to force you." A single hand restraint pops out of the left armrest, wrapping around my human hand tightly.

"W-what are you doing?! I need to get back to my friends!" I yell at him. I gulp. Is...is he really going to kill me? I try to free my other hand with my cybernetic arm with all my strength, but as I know, that can be very little especially in a situation where my cybernetic arm can't rip off an arm strap.

"Why do you look so worried? I'm not going to kill you, no, that would be too easy. Instead, I'm going to make things very...very simple for you." He points his blue index finger towards his desk, my gaze following in the direction he's pointing. Without my knowledge, a red button has appeared on the desk. "You see that button? Just press it."

"W...what is it going to do when I press it?"

"I can't spoil the surprise, Rhys. You can find that out yourself." Jack grins at me and moves his face close to mine. " _Press it_."

"Hell no! Why should I?! For all I know, it could kill me!"

"Ah, why must you make things so...damn...difficult?" I can feel my cybernetic arm moving on its own.

"Stop!" I call out to him and on instinct, I try to hold back my cybernetic arm, but I look back down to the left armrest, remembering that my left arm was held back. I...I can't do anything! "Jack! You don't have to do this!" I tell him, watching on as my arm only seems to inch closer and closer to the button.

"Oh, but I have to. You need to be taught a lesson Rhys, don't defy a King or else you'll get punished." Jack makes my cybernetic index stick out and then, against my wishes, pushes the button.

"Moonshots to Pandora, launching now." Moonshots...to Pandora…?! Vaughn is there, waiting for me to return. _My best friend_ is there! Life finally springs back into my body; at the same time as the voice blares through the intercom. The restraint around my hand is released, setting me free but...it's too late. I bolt out of my seat and quickly turn to look at Jack who has a pleased look on his face. "You monster…" I mumble under my breath.

"I wish we could have a better view of the fireworks, don't you wish the same, Rhys? Seeing the look on your friends' faces when they realize what you've done. Ahh man, that sounds so great! And they'll think it was your idea, too!" Jack begins to cackle.

I turn pale at the thought. That's right...I never did tell any of them about Jack, not even Vaughn. I was scared about how they would react, if they would abandon me. Now, that choice is coming back to haunt me. "N-no...No…" I fall to my knees, trying to hold back the tears. I cover my ears, trying to silence Jack's laughter. However, it only seems to get louder and louder. "You launched the moonshots...Y-you fired them. You pressed the button!" I cry out.

"Poor Vaughn. What do you think his last thoughts will be of before those moonshots obliterate him?" Jack ignores my claim and proceeds to just rub salt into the wound. "Maybe it's him giving you a bro-fist or some stupid shit like that?" Jack says, ignoring what I just said to him.

"Shut up..Shut up, shut up, shut up!" I cry out, pressing my hands harder against my ears. _Please...just make this stop! This isn't happening!_

"You know Rhys, friends...they're only temporary. Hell, I would know. It's better to just off them before they go ahead and stab you in the back, like _you_ did with _me._.." He kneels down in front of me and smiles, looking content at my pain. With impeccable timing, a familiar voice rings in my ears.

"Rhys, what the _HELL_ did you just do!?" Fiona yells into my ear. "You said you were going to get the Gortys piece, not blow up Pandora!"

"What do you mean? Everything is going according to plan!" Words I never intended to say come out of my mouth. "Now, next is step two!" Suddenly, gunshots can be heard in the distance. "Good luck, babe."

"SHIT-" Fiona's voice gets cut off.

"F-FI!" I call out, finally gaining back the ability to speak again. Nothing, no response. "F...Fiona...Sasha...Gortys, answer me...please…" I beg, but the result is still the same; I don't get a single response.

"How about we go visit them, kiddo?" Jack offers his hand to me and I look at him, horrified. I'm scared to see them and knowing Jack, something will be off. Very off. My vision begins to go out of focus, everything becoming blurry. Jack smirks. "After all, it'll be the last time you do," he says in a static-y voice before my vision goes black.

* * *

When I come to, I'm in a different location; a large green hallway decorated with monitors that are turned on. Every single one has the same image on it, Jack's pixelated face. When he sees me get up with a scared look, he smiles. "Oh hey, Rhys! Glad you can finally join us!" _Us?_

"Us? Where's Fiona, Sasha, and Gortys?!" I ask him.

Jack raises his index finger and points it down the hallway. "Down there."

Jack disappears off the monitors and I immediately start to sprint down the hallway. I need to find them, I need to know that they're safe! I...I already lost Vaughn because of Jack, I can't lose anyone else! As I get closer, I hear soft muffled crying. That only causes me to move even faster. Who's crying? _Why_ are they crying? I'm afraid to find out the answer.

What seems like an eternity passes by until I can see Fiona, kneeling down next to something, something I can't entirely recognize. That is, until Fiona desperately calls out a name. "Sasha! Don't leave me, please!"

 _Sasha?_ I stop in my tracks, only a few feet away from the scene. This can't be her. This can't be Sasha. It's just a body covered in red. Fear begins to creep up my spine, those gunshots earlier, they were all meant for Sasha and every single shot hit with perfect accuracy. I try to inch myself closer, but the smell blows through my nostrils, making me nearly gag and leaving tears in my eyes. All I can do is stand there and look at the scene; watch Fiona crying over her sister that Jack killed out of cold blood.

"You're a monster…" Fiona mutters. She jumps up to her feet and looks me in the eye, her face stained from all the tears she's cried. "You're a goddamn _monster!_ "

My heart immediately drops. I didn't do this... It was all Jack! "No, I-I—" I gain enough courage to walk towards Fiona despite the stench within the hall getting stronger, I reach out to her, hoping she'll listen.

"Don't come near me!" She screams out, pulling her tiny golden pistol out at me. I hold up my hands in defense, trying to show her I mean no harm. "You killed Vaughn and now the only family I had left?! You said you we were your friends!"

 _You are my friends, I never lied about that!_ I try to protest, but not a single word comes out. "I got this, cupcake." Jack's voice echoes in my head. "Fiona, babe, she was holding us back! They all were! Now, we can rule Hyperion..." I move forward toward her, I can feel a smirk being painted onto my face. As I close in on Fiona, I notice the hand she's holding that pistol so tightly with is shaking, her eyes are full of fear. I extend my cybernetic hand out to her. "Together."

"I…" Fiona's arm steadies, "I hope you rot in hell, Rhys." A gunshot echoes throughout the hall and my vision goes black.

* * *

Did I die? If so, it seemed almost painless as if I got shot in the head. However, sirens start going off. As much as I don't want to, I open my eyes. I'm in a hallway decorated with monitors only displaying a light blue screen. On the other side, there are escape pods; many of them already gone. Why? Then, the intercom comes on once again.

"I repeat, Helios is crashing down onto Pandora. Please get to the nearest escape pod as soon as possible." What!? I jump onto my feet and frantically look around. Most of the escape pods were already used and the ones I can find are broken. I bolt down the hallway, my footsteps drowned out by the loud sirens. I'm not dying here, I can't! I...I need to get back to Pandora. Vaughn is smart enough to steal the caravan back from Vallory and move out of the way from the moonshots... He had to...right?

In the distant, I can see Loader Bot, his state still the same as it was before. He's desperately trying to open an escape pod that's been closed down. I smile, the only good thing to come out of this trip. We can go back to Pandora together and see Vaughn, at least I still have those two.

"Loader Bot!" I call out his name. He turns and sees me, then immediately goes back to trying to open the pod. When I reach him, he's opened the pod. "Oh man, am I glad to see—" Loader Bot lays his big metal hand on my chest. "...LB? What are you—" He pushes me with all his force, which is like a truck hitting you head-on, something you wouldn't expect out of robot with half his body missing. My body hits the wall hard; I rub the back of my head and look at Loader Bot with a confused expression. "Why did you do that?!"

"Rhys. You betrayed us." Loader Bot says to me.

My eyes widen and I shake my head. "N-no! You got it all wrong LB!" How do I explain this to him, especially now? "Jack did it! He made me do all of this—"

"Do you know what happened to Gortys?"

"...Huh?"

"She was taken captive by Kroger back to Pandora once the moonshots you fired stopped. We have no clue where she could be. If you did not betray us Rhys, none of this would have happened. I thought we were your friends." The escape pod closes between us. "You are not a friend, Rhys. I am not saving you here. You can find a way out by _yourself_." He turns around, the black backing of the seat now facing me.

I bang on the glass separating us. "Loader Bot...please, don't leave me. I-I didn't do any of this! It was Jack!" I cry out softly. Why will no one _believe_ me?

"It might as well have been," LB says, as the escape pod launches away.

My heart drops and tears well up in my eyes. I'm alone now and I'm going to die alone...I turn around and slide down on the escape pod door. I hug my knees, the only thing willing to accept my touch. Why? What did I do to deserve this? I did everything in my power to make _sure_ things went right.

 _These are our friends, Scooter..._ The words that Fiona spoke at the garage play in my mind like an ECHO tape. That meant so much to me, that I finally gained her trust, hell, everyone's trust. I felt welcomed, like I belonged. Now, all that's gone to waste because of—

"Hey Rhys." I look up to see Jack's face on the many monitors that decorated this hall.

"Remember what I told you earlier? About how friends are only temporary and you ignored me? You still clung onto that hope that your friends would accept you for being that Hyperion employee who wanted to rise to the top _so badly_. Guess what kiddo, they're gone."

I want to speak, but the words are stuck in my throat. He...he's right. They _are_ gone and they all thought that everything that happened was because of _me_. It was all because of him, _Jack_ , that I lost those I cared about; people I could finally call 'friends' outside of Vaughn and Yvette.

"Then, you refused my offer. Rhys, we could have _been_ something. We could have _ruled_ Hyperion and Pandora. You just wanted to be the hero of your own story. Now, you're going to die here with me, the villain. Fitting, isn't it?"

I shake my head and put my forehead to my knees, clutching them tighter. I close my eyes, tears hitting the metal floor that I'm sitting on. _Let this end already, please,_ is the last thought I have before my consciousness gives into the darkness.

* * *

When I come to, I hear the loud crackling of fire. _Am I in Hell?_ I slowly open my eyes to see debris around me and fire in the distance. When my vision becomes clear, I can see a barely-hanging poster of Jack, something I had in my office along with the many other posters I had of him when I still naïve. I get up on my feet and scan my surroundings fully with my ECHO-eye. Everything around me is what's left of Helios and by some miracle, if I can even call it that, I'm alive along with it all. I walk forward and look at the Handsome Jack poster of him posing in front of a podium with many Loader Bots behind him, looking like they're ready to attack at his command. I shake my head in disgust, I used to have a faithful companion but Jack burned _that_ bridge; hell, he burned every single bridge there was that connected me to everyone.

I walk through a tunnel full of debris and push some out of the way to further examine the crash site. The trail of metal and recognizable debris continues along the path, the only different thing being a huge statue of Handsome Jack. "Asshole…" I scoff at it. I turn my attention back ahead of me and see the trail end. The same office I was in earlier, the one where Jack made me... _No, don't think about it Rhys._ I hold back the tears and move up the small set of stairs.

"Ah, kiddo…" A terribly familiar voice says. I look up to see the tilted and cracked monitor behind the damaged brown desk; Jack's there. "I thought you wouldn't make it."

"I was hoping for it. After all, what do I have left?" I glare daggers at Jack's stretched face on the monitor. "You fucked up _everything_ I had! You…" my hands turn into tight fists, "you killed Vaughn and Sasha." I can recount that pool of red and Fiona crying, kneeling down beside her sister. Vaughn...God, I don't even want to imagine it. "Gortys is gone and Loader Bot left me, thinking the hell hole you caused back up there was _my fault_!" I bark at him.

The monitor turns to black and Jack appears by my side; my attention still glued to him. "None of it would have happened if you agreed to the deal Rhys; simple as that. It's _not_ my fault, it's all yours." He dares to point at me, his finger nearly going through my chest.

"Get your fucking finger away from me!" I back up, clearly aggravated. I want to punch him so hard, but I know all that would lead me to is my fist just going straight through him. I want him to go away, I want him out of my life! "You pressed that button because you took control of this stupid cybernetic arm. You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Nakayama's drive, you would be in Hell, where you deserve to be! All alone, rotting there! Hell, I don't blame your daughter for abandoning your crazy ass—"

"Do. Not. Talk. About Angel, kiddo. You're really…" He walks closer to me and I begin to back up, "pissing me," he raises his left hand and my cybernetic hand follows, "THE FUCK OFF!" Jack grabs his throat and my cybernetic hand grabs mine, tightly. My eyes widen at the sight. He's really going to kill me... "You want me to rot in Hell and think you're not going down _with_ me, Rhys? You must be out of your mind! I'm going to enjoy _watching you die_."

I continue to back up, the grip around my neck getting tighter until I bump into a piece of debris and a metal rod pierces through my arm. "You see this, Rhys? _This_ is leadership. _This_ is what being a goddamn king looks like, taking out _whatever_ gets in your way!"

I look at my arm; my vision is getting dark. Am I...going to lose here? No, I'm not going to let him win, I refuse. He's won too many times! I grab hold of the yellow shoulder piece on my arm and tear it off with every fiber of strength I have left. Then, I quickly take hold of my cybernetic arm with my human hand and try to remove its grip on my throat. He won't win this round, even if it means ripping this stupid arm off! The pressure on my neck lessens and a few seconds pass before I yank the arm away from my neck. I back up to the side, making sure it will no longer reach me. I grab the now revealed wires and pull a few away. I gulp; this is _really_ going to hurt. I start to back away even further and I can hear the wires snapping and the arm slowly coming free from my body.

"What the hell are you doing, Rhys?!" Jack asks me.

"Something I should have done a long time ago," I grunted. Soon, he won't have control and I'll be free! The wires keep on snapping, which sounds like music to my ears at this point.

"Rhys, stop!" Jack's voice becomes distorted while he continues to yell, as if it's becoming mixed with another's...

* * *

" _Rhys…? Rhys!"_

Hands grabbing his shoulders made him jerk backward, hissing. He wouldn't let Jack win this time. Not while there was a chance he could still—

" _Rhys! Stop! You don't know_ — _"_

"No, Jack!" He growled. "I've had _enough_ of your—"

" _Jack's gone!"_

He hesitated. The voice wasn't… But, Fiona? That didn't...She'd left him back on— The hands gripping his shoulders shook him once, forcefully, dragging him into sudden consciousness. The face staring into his own wasn't the snarling, pixelated mask of Handsome Jack. It was… "Fi-ona?" He swallowed hard, hating the way his voice cracked.

Slowly, she let go of his shoulders and sat back, brows drawn together, concern evident in her pale green eyes. Her gaze flicked downward a second before she reached out toward his left wrist, pulling his fingers away from where they'd been—curled under the shoulder plate of his cybernetic arm, white with tension. "You okay? Sounded like a pretty bad nightmare," she finally murmured, crossing her legs.

He slumped back against the headboard and shut his eyes. Of course she was here. She'd never left. Jack hadn't touched her. Jack hadn't touched any of them. Vaughn, Gortys, Sasha, Loader Bot; they were all safe. Jack was...dead. Gone. Fragmented into so many pieces that not even Nakayama would have been able to put him back together. Pretty soon, those little shards of that shattered ECHO-eye would be ground into dust and scattered across Pandora. _Poetic justice_ , Rhys mused sourly. _Brought down by one of his own employees on the planet he hated. Suck_ that, _you asshole_.

"Feel like talking about it?"

Fiona's soft question roused him from his internal eulogizing. He turned to look at her. She still hadn't let go of his hand. "It's fine," he lied. There was no use worrying her with problems she couldn't fix. "Just the...usual stuff."

She frowned, tracing the lines on his palm with her thumb. "Didn't sound like it."

Rhys sighed. He should have known she'd be able to see right through him. She always did. "Yeah, okay…so it was...a little worse, probably." He shrugged weakly. "But I don't need to talk about it, Fi, honest—"

"I had to stop you from tearing out your arm. That's _never_ happened before." Her voice didn't hold any traces of reprimand, only worry. "How close was he to killing you this time?"

"Kinda sad when you have to end a question like _that_ with "this time," am I right…?" he trailed off when Fiona's expression didn't change. "It...uh...it wasn't me he was after in this one. Not...directly anyway. Well, yes, directly. But also indirectly—"

"Rhys..."

"Yeah, yeah..." He drew in a shaky breath and held it for a minute. "It...uh...it was a long one. Or...at least it felt like it."

Fiona smiled and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I've got all night." Before he could protest, she'd scooted back against the headboard beside him, pulling the blankets up to her neck. "Just start from the beginning."

"This is your last chance to back out," he joked weakly. He knew she wouldn't, and breathed a quiet sigh of resignation when she wordlessly tucked her head against his shoulder. To anyone else, it would look like cuddling—which it _technically_ was—but Rhys knew it was also her way of telling him he was stuck there until she'd heard everything he had to say.

"Was it about Helios again?"

He nodded. "Whole thing started before it crashed, though."

At this, Fiona raised her head again, and Rhys spared her a sidelong glance. She cocked her scarred eyebrow at him. "That's new."

He just offered a noncommittal shrug. He was still shaken by how _real_ the dream had seemed. All the emotions, all the senses...they'd been so strong. He'd _felt_ the moonshots send tremors through the station as they streaked toward Pandora. He'd _smelled_ the sickening metallic tang of fresh blood— _tasted_ the hot bile that forced its way up his throat. _Heard_ the alarms blaring. Heard... _Jack_. Taunting him. Scrambling his thoughts, making him say words that weren't his own… "You know, I actually... _really_ don't want to talk about this one, Fi," he whispered, hardly recognizing his own voice.

Beside him, she shifted. "Jack went after me, didn't he?"

"Not...not exactly—God, don't...make me say it, please." His throat felt tight, and it didn't help at all when Fiona leaned in and brushed her lips across his neck, feather-light.

"This problem won't fix itself." Her mouth was still so close to his skin; her breath was warm. "You _need_ to talk about it."

He knew that. He did. He'd told her about countless other dreams... _Dreams._ It sounded so...docile. But dreams didn't force you to wake up in a cold sweat night after night, heart pounding, gasping for breath. Dreams didn't evoke the same kind of expression in the soft mint-green eyes of the woman next to you. Dreams didn't make her worry. Dreams didn't hurt her. Dreams didn't hurt anyone.

He swallowed, trying to wash down the lump in his throat. "He made me kill Sasha."

Fiona flinched.

Rhys didn't look at her. He couldn't. "A-and Vaughn—my God, I can't do this…" Heat welled up behind his eyes as he pulled his knees against his chest, hugging them tightly. "I don't know what I _ever_ saw in him, Fiona." His voice hitched. "I can't believe I wanted to be _anything_ like him. How could anyone be that... _selfish_? H-He never...cared about _anyone_ but himself—not even...not even his own fucking _daughter_. I researched all that shit, you know. I-In the databanks. Some of them were still salvageable in the wreck…" He was just babbling now, the words falling out of his mouth unchecked, as freely as the tears that had finally spilled over.

"He _used_ her, Fi… Used her like—like a slave. H-He _exploited_ her for his own…" Rhys drew in a broken breath. "Said he was p-protecting her—yeah right. Bullshit. A-All of it—everything he ever said was a-a...fucking lie. How come no one else could see it? I-It was _so_ obvious… A-And I don't even know h-how I _thought_ I could be like him—I mean, I'm not h-heartless or—or cruel or—I _care_ about people, I _h-have_ friends—"

A warm hand on his face made the words stick in his throat. "Hey...shh…" Fiona soothed, rubbing her thumb across his cheekbone. "You would have _never_ been like Jack, okay? Even if everything had gone according to plan and you ended up being the...President of Hyperion...or...whatever."

Rhys couldn't hold back a quiet laugh. "And you wonder why Vaughn made _me_ the motivational speaker…"

"Oh, shut up… You're not much better at it than I am." She rolled her eyes, but leaned in to kiss him anyway.

Here, with her lips against his skin and the warmth of her body right next to him, Jack felt so far away. _All_ of it felt...distant. As if it had just been the two of them, sitting like this, for as long as he could remember. No specific beginning, and no foreseeable end. Just...existence. In this moment. He shut his eyes with a quiet sigh and finally allowed himself to relax as she sat back. "Talk to me," he eventually murmured, resting his head against her shoulder.

"Okay…what about?"

"Don't care," he whispered. "Anything." Right now, just hearing her voice was enough. Knowing she was safe, that she was with him...it was enough to keep the nightmares away. At least for the moment.

* * *

"Anything, huh? Well. Hm…" She bit her lip. "That leaves me with a lot of options…" When his response was nothing more than a faint, incomprehensible mumble, she smiled. He'd be sleeping deeper than a hibernating rakk hive in a matter of minutes. She wrapped one arm around his shoulders and started toying with his hair.

"So...the first time I saw you, I didn't know what to think," she began, the smile still on her lips. He'd seemed so out of place, so _groomed_ , in his vest and those stupid half-pinstriped pants. He was so blatantly Hyperion that not even the _dirt_ on Pandora seemed to want to get anywhere near him. "Compared to Vaughn, you looked like a complete badass, honestly. Of course, it took all of five seconds of hearing you talk to realize what a dweeb you were…"

Granted, he was _still_ a dweeb. A richer, more honest, _slightly_ wiser dweeb than he had been...but a dweeb nonetheless. He'd never outgrow it—it was just his personality, and Fiona loved every minute of it.

"And hearing you try to get help from Hyperion about the case tracker... _that_ was good. That was…" she hesitated and pursed her lips. That was when she'd started to see him differently. "I guess you...somehow became more human, then," she continued softly. "You were in just as much trouble as we were, and while I still didn't trust you, I figured you couldn't be _all_ bad. Or maybe it was just the satisfaction of seeing you squirm when you didn't have a plan to fall back on. Whatever it was...I didn't hate you quite as much from then on."

She leaned back against the headboard and closed her eyes. His breathing had already evened out, so there was really no use in talking to him anymore. But she'd never said any of this out loud and it felt good to do it now, even if he couldn't hear any of it. She'd tell him one day. Maybe...maybe during their wedding. Maybe in front of a fireplace in a nice house on a planet that _wasn't_ Pandora. Maybe sitting on a couch with him, cuddling with their kids.

"I'm sorry I acted like a bitch when I found out about Jack," she whispered. "I wasn't mad at you. I was...scared. Pandoran natives know better than anyone else what Jack was capable of and I didn't want to see any of it happen to you." She didn't even need to open her eyes as she traced the blue tattoos on his chest with one finger; she'd long since memorized them. "Friends have been few and far between for me and Sasha and I didn't want to lose you like I'd lost most of the others."

"You're a good person, Rhys. If you were awake, you'd deny it in a heartbeat, but I've been able to see it from the start. Sure, it started small, but the longer we were together…" She breathed out a slow sigh. "What you did in Jack's office... _those_ are your true colors. You're honest, you're loyal… Hell, when you told me you didn't pick one of those stupid flowers…" She laughed quietly. "You had this all planned out, didn't you? You had _us_ planned out…"

His hair was soft between her fingers and she could feel his heartbeat with her other hand, still resting on his chest. He was so real and tangible and she never wanted to let go. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to. "The corporate nonsense—all the backstabbing and ladder-climbing—it never would have suited you. Which is probably for the better, anyway. It's not easy, you know. Lying to make a living." She smiled to herself. "But _every_ once in a while...it pays off."

He fidgeted and grumbled something in his sleep, sinking even further into her shoulder. She couldn't help grinning, and finally opened her eyes, bending down to kiss his hair. "And as long as you don't drool on me this time...you can stay."


	5. Hidden Away

**A/N:** I'm on a roll, guys. Okay, so this one is a rewrite of the infamous "flower scene" of Episode 3. This is how it _should_ have gone. In other words, this is the Rhyiona version. In which Rhys is awkward, Sasha is supportive, and Fiona is wrongfully jealous.

Again, I'd like to give giant thank you's to all of the following people: **EinIII, BounceQ, Electric-Rawr, Sohaorszag17, Dauntless-Fuhrmanizer-Tribute, Bdub,** and all the wonderful people on the "Rhys x Fiona Confirmed" thread on Telltale's website. You guys are the best.

 **Disclaimer:** Belongs to Telltale, 2K, and Gearbox. But that doesn't change the fact that I'd kidnap Rhys if he were a real person.

 **Read, enjoy, review, and share!**

* * *

Rhys didn't know how to describe it. It _seemed_ silent, but at the same time, it...wasn't. Leaves rustled. Trees creaked. Insects droned. Sure, it was probably the most gorgeous place he'd seen on Pandora so far, but something about it still made his skin crawl. "This is...uh…"

Sasha smirked. "Romantic?"

"Well, I guess it _could_ be…" Rhys ducked under a low branch. "If it weren't for the _hissing_." He tipped a thumb toward a group of the floating plant-creatures, watching as they drifted serenely overhead. "It's...a _little_ creepy."

Sasha shrugged. "Compared to the rest of the wildlife on Pandora…"

Rhys grumbled a reluctant agreement to her unspoken implication. At least these things hadn't tried to kill them on sight. Regardless, he didn't really want to be in this facility any longer than he had to be. "Kinda hard to see the tower from down here…"

"We'll find it. We weren't too far off when that catwalk collapsed." She elbowed him in the ribs as they pushed through a curtain of huge leaves. "And you were _totally_ scared, Mister _I-Could-Jump-A-Million-Times-Further-Than-That_."

Rhys scoffed, but didn't bother denying it. They walked on in comfortable silence for a few moments. Well, calling it _comfortable_ silence was maybe a bit of a stretch, since every movement in the leaves around them set Rhys' nerves on edge. And again, it wasn't really _silence_ , with all the jungle noises— "So...you think you could get back together with August?" Maybe not the _best_ topic, but he was desperate for conversation. "If that's even something you're interested in at all, of course."

"I...don't know," Sasha admitted with a sigh.

"He seemed kind of...disrespectful. And not just during the entire Gortys...core...fiasco, either—which I actually totally understand why he would be _then_ , I mean, that whole thing was _craaaazy_ —"

"He tries to act tough," Sasha cut in. "But...once you get to know him…" Rhys glanced down at her just in time to see a slight smile tug at the corners of her lips. "He can actually be pretty sweet."

She didn't elaborate and Rhys chewed his lip. He hated to press the subject, but hearing nothing besides bugs, leaves, hissing plants, and his own footsteps only made him think about the potential danger they were in. Dreamy, glowing jungle or not, this was still an Atlas facility, and given his track record at the _previous_ two Atlas facilities...he'd barely make it out of this one alive. If at all. At least Vaughn was with Loader Bot and Fiona could (hopefully) rely on Athena if things got too dicey—

"While we're on the subject though, why don't we talk about _you?_ "

"Wh—uh, huh?" He looked down at Sasha, not at all comforted when he was met with narrowed eyes and a cunning smirk. "Wh—wha—haha, uh, what is there to talk about...about me…?"

She gave an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes. "I'm not blind, Rhys."

"I...know that…" He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"And I'm not stupid, either."

Yeah, it was going there. "I... _officially_ ha-have _nooo_ idea what you're talking about, a-anymore," he lied, hating how nervous he sounded. _Fiona makes it look so easy…_ He swallowed maybe a little too loudly when he felt his face heating up at the thought of the con artist.

"That blush says you know _exactly_ what I'm talking about." Sasha stopped walking and crossed her arms over her chest. "So go ahead and tell me why I catch you staring at my sister practically every time I look at you."

"I...uh...ha, I don't _stare_ , okay? I…" He drew in a deep breath. He could do this. He could say it. Sasha wouldn't shoot him. They needed to hack the security system and she couldn't do it without him, so he was safe...right? "Fine, I...think she's...really beautiful. There, I said it. Happy?"

Sasha's eyes narrowed to slits as she studied his (uncomfortably warm) face. "That's _it?_ "

"Wha...what do you mean?"

"You like the way she _looks_ ," Sasha clarified, voice hard.

Rhys immediately realized his mistake. "No, no! Well, _yes_ —she's...God, she's gorgeous, but that's not the _only_ thing! She...she's smart! A-and funny—sometimes—and I like how she rolls her eyes and pretends not to care but actually smiles when she thinks I'm not looking—oh, and when she asks for my opinion on things, that's nice—"

Sasha waved dismissively. "Okay, okay… Don't...choke on your tongue." She let her arms drop to her sides and continued down the path.

Rhys fell into step beside her, wringing his hands. "Is it...okay with _you?_ I mean...if I were to, I don't know, like...ask her...out, or...something? I haven't really known either of you for very long, but...surviving death with someone tends to make you think about—"

"Rhys, just...stop, for a second. You're embarrassing yourself."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I...do that a lot."

"It's fine with me if you want to…" she looked down and picked at her nail polish, "...date Fiona, I guess, but I'm just gonna tell you right now… I don't know if she feels the same way."

"I...kinda picked up on that, actually." He sighed and scuffed at the dirt. "Which is why I wanted to make sure it was okay with you so I could...ask what kinds of things she likes. So I'd...have a better chance."

At that, Sasha turned. "You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

He didn't immediately reply. _Was_ he serious about this? It sure felt like it. Ever since he'd met Fiona, he'd had this strange sense of...a loss of control. Which, honestly, was kind of troubling. He'd _always_ had a plan—or...he'd always _thought_ he had a plan—but then along came this crazy Pandoran woman with a hat and a sleeve pistol and a silver tongue and he just...lost it. Poof. Gone. Every clever one-liner he managed to think of didn't have the same effect on her that it would have had on some tight-skirted secretary back on Helios. In fact, more often than not, he found himself tripping over his words, stuttering and blabbering and generally looking like an idiot. And she would just patiently raise that eyebrow—the one with the weirdly cute scar through it—and wait for him to finish whatever it was he was trying to say. He tried to hate the way she insulted him, but it always felt more like teasing than anything else; there was rarely any actual venom in the words. He could fake animosity well enough around the others; keep up the charade of reluctant partner-in-crime, but when they were alone… He'd never felt _anything_ like this before, so...that had to mean—

"Rhys? Hello? Ugh, God, you...you _really_ mean it, don't you?" Sasha tossed her hands in the air and kept walking. "Go figure, you come down from your fancy moonbase and pretend to go on and on about "filthy Pandoran criminals," when _actually_ —"

"I think I love her, Sasha," he murmured, still caught in his thoughts.

"See? _That's_ what I'm talking about. How would you even know what love feels like, Hyperion boy? I bet you've never loved anyone besides yourself and maybe your parents. It's just because we're "dangerous" down here, right? You want to be able to brag to all your buddies about how you've got a "bad girl" and how you're so smooth that even—whoa."

She stopped so suddenly that Rhys almost walked straight into her. "What's gooooh...wow." A clearing had opened up in front of them, and _dozens_ of the glowing balloon-plants floated through the treetops. "That's…"

Sasha took a few hesitant steps out into the glade, turning around, taking everything in. "This is incredible," she breathed. "Oh, come look at these!" She was bent down beside a small tree, inspecting a patch of purple flowers growing on the trunk. "You know...after a while, you just sort of feel like you've seen everything; like you can't be surprised by anything anymore…" She reached out to touch one of the flowers. "Something so delicate...hidden away…"

Nothing she was saying was incorrect, and he honestly wanted to bring a small handful (or an entire basket) back to Fiona, but he also had a sneaking suspicion that _maybe_ the flowers would be better off left undisturbed. There _had_ been a small carnivorous plant of some kind back in that initial "living area" after all... "Maybe...we should just let it be."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, however, Sasha grinned and plucked one anyway, holding it out to him. "Give it to Fiona."

The blush that had been slowly subsiding over the past few minutes suddenly rushed back into his cheeks with nearly painful intensity. "You're sure? Is this even her thing? I mean...would she like it? And weren't you just complaining about how—"

She waved him off with a short laugh. "Yes, she'll love it. Trust me. Just stick it behind her ear or something."

Rhys accepted the flower hesitantly. "You're _absolutely_ sure you're okay with me and her...being together? If it...even happens…"

Sasha put her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow. "Would I be telling you to give her a flower if I wasn't okay with it?"

"I don't know, I mean, the whole thing could be another con," he muttered, only half-joking. "Maybe she hates flowers. Maybe she's allergic to them and—"

"Would you just keep the flower and walk so we can find this secur— _pfff_ —" A splatter of orange liquid covered her face before she could finish the sentence.

Rhys looked down at the flower, then back up at Sasha's pollen-splashed face, laughing softly. "You deserved that."

"Yes I did."

Rhys tucked the flower into his vest pocket and turned back in the direction of the tower. He paused mid-step, however. Something wasn't right. That leaky-gas-pipe noise had gotten louder. And...somehow more aggressive. "Uh...Sasha?"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear it."

He backed toward her, glancing around the glade. The bluish-white glow provided by the docile floating plants had turned into a harsh red and about sixteen of them were propelling themselves slowly toward he and Sasha. "This is why we can't have anything nice." He pointed toward the angrily-hissing plants. "I _told_ you we should have just left it alone… Red means bad, right...?"

* * *

Fiona hadn't expected to see Rhys leaning on her sister's shoulder, barely conscious, when the door slid open to reveal the two of them.

Vaughn took a step closer. "What happened?"

"Oh, um, Rhys just took a spill," Sasha explained, half walking, half dragging Rhys through the door. "He's...he's totally fine."

Fiona chewed the inside of her cheek, watching Rhys' head roll limply from side to side, and accidentally bit down a little too hard when Sasha dumped him roughly against a stack of crates.

"Jussst...take spill," he slurred. "...fine."

Fiona kept her eyes on him for a moment longer. "You sure about that? He...might have a concussion." As her gaze slid back to Sasha, she caught a glimpse of purple sticking out of the pocket of his vest and couldn't keep herself from doing a double-take.

"Nah, he'll be okay," was the dismissive reply. "He's got a thick skull. But we learned something about Cassius…"

Her sister's words faded as she stared at the scrap of purple. It was a flower. A glowing flower. A _crushed_ glowing flower. Where had he…? She blinked a few times, then glanced back at Sasha. _She_ didn't have a flower on her, at least not that Fiona could see… Had she given it to him? Had _he_ planned to give it to _her?_ Fiona couldn't help the little spike of jealousy that pierced through her chest at the thought. Sure, Sasha was her sister and her best friend and she wanted her to be happy and Rhys was a decent guy (even if he was Hyperion) but she didn't think she'd been imagining all the—

Athena's enraged screams snapped her out of her daze and she snatched the flower from Rhys' vest before turning to see what all the commotion was about. Athena had her sword at Cassius' throat, snarling, while Vaughn, Gortys, and Sasha just watched in horror. Fiona spared one last look back at Rhys. She didn't really know where this jealousy had come from, and didn't even know if her juvenile reasoning was justified, but as she started across the room toward her sister, she dropped the flower, not feeling any guilt whatsoever when the heel of her boot mashed it into a weakly-glowing paste on the concrete.


	6. The Sound of Silence

**A/N:** So this one requires a little context. Some of you will know about the "big" Borderlands story I have planned, called Unconventional. I have a few chapters up right now, but it's going to undergo (yet another) major rewrite. In the interest of saving time and space, I'll just say that these scenes will show up in Unconventional, just tweaked a little, and...with a better ending. I decided to keep the alternate ending and put it up as a standalone one-shot, too.

Many, many thanks to those of you who faved, followed, and/or reviewed: **EinIII, TheHeartOfTheTARDIS, 7Arach7, Vixofash, scaerwyn13, Dainchi, Shockzone, sertry, regent septimus, The Brightest Silver, quoth-the-author-nyarr, ScreamingGremlin, redxkiller45, deathofshadows, Sweden's Pride, TNAMovieMaker, warriorwolfgirl, Guest,** and **efeivelson**.

In response to the guest who left the review asking for Rhys in a life or death situation…well, this kind of fits the bill in that regard, but I do have another scene planned like that, too, so stick around!

 **Disclaimer:** Not mine. Still not mine.  
 **Warnings:** Suicide.  
 **Read, enjoy, review, and share!**

* * *

" _FIONA!_ "

The gunshot echoed off the surrounding cliffs, ringing in Rhys' ears. She seemed so far away, caught between his eyes and the barrel of the shotgun. A second seemed like an hour as the bullet sliced through the heavy air. Rhys couldn't look away. He just stood there, feeling frozen, cold, like all the blood had left his body. She was going to die. Fiona, a Vault Hunter, his friend, his _lover_...was milliseconds from death.

He could see her twisting away, trying to dodge, but she wasn't going to make it. He knew it was futile, to reach out to her, to scream her name again, as if that would somehow save her. He did it anyway. _Why couldn't he have been closer? Pushed her out of the way? Taken the bullet himself?_ No, he was helpless to do anything but watch. The slowly-advancing bullet would bury itself into her skull, directly between her eyes. Those beautiful green eyes. And then she'd be gone. Dead.

Something foreign welled up within him, filling his veins with heat. She didn't deserve to go out like this. Not now, not ever. _He wasn't going to let that happen._ As soon as this thought was firmly anchored in his brain, time suddenly seemed to catch up with itself. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears, feel his muscles straining as he stretched across the sand toward her.

And that's when it happened. All at once. A sharp _crack_ , louder than the gunshot, ricocheted off the stone walls of the canyon. The ground between Fiona and the gunner trembled, then exploded, tossing up a dervish of sand. Fiona was thrown to the side from the force of the blast, and Rhys watched as the bullet whistled harmlessly past her ear. The man holding the shotgun stumbled backward with a grunt, but didn't lose his balance. Horror and anger boiled in Rhys' blood as the gunner steadied himself and lined up another shot at Fiona, now lying dazed and defenseless in the dirt.

With a scream that felt like it shredded his vocal cords, Rhys sprinted toward the other man. Instantly, the gun's muzzle swung around, level with his chest, and Rhys raised his left hand in reflexive defense, even though he knew it would do nothing to stop a bullet. Only he proved himself wrong because the shot never came. As soon as he opened his palm, a wave of piercing heat lanced down his arm and half a second later, hell broke loose. A ripple of energy pulsed across the short distance separating Rhys from his almost certain death, hitting the gunner with a blinding flash of light. Electricity crackled, filling the air with the sharp scent of ozone and smoke.

And then it was over. No light, no supercharged air… _no gunman._ Rhys stared at the ground where the man had stood. There was no body. No blood. Only a thin sheet of glass in the sand and a few dissipating wisps of smoke. Rhys' chest was tight, his head was swimming, he felt so nauseous. The world spun in front of his eyes as the heat in his arm ebbed away, leaving behind an equally painful cold. It felt like liquid nitrogen was being injected into his veins. Burning and freezing simultaneously.

He was barely aware of Fiona muttering "what the hell" before he crashed to his knees and pitched forward, throwing up a paste of half-digested drakefruit. God, it hurt. Everything _hurt_.

Footsteps crunched toward him. "What did you _do_?!" Fiona demanded. "What the _hell just happened?!_ "

He could only shake his head as his stomach flipped again, forcing hot, bitter acid up his throat. He gagged, spitting it out onto the sand, gasping for breath. "I...don't know...I think I...killed him…"

Fiona knelt down and ran her fingers over the glass. "Well, whatever that was, it was hot enough to do _this_ …" She stared at him, then pointed. "Look, Rhys."

He glanced down at his chest. Brilliant blue glowed back at him.

"I've got to take you to Sanctuary. Now."

* * *

There was absolutely no sound from beyond the door. Even the air in the hallway seemed motionless. She reached for the doorknob, turning it slowly. "Rhys...?" The hinges creaked as she pushed the door open, loud amidst the silence. The room on the other side was dark, and she could barely make out a shape slumped against the far wall. A waft of stale air hit her, dusty and sour. She grimaced.

"Rhys? Hey..." She focused on the familiar silhouette, trying not to stare at the faintly-glowing patterns pulsing across his skin. "Lilith and Maya said..." She trailed off, choked by the sudden lump rising in her throat, and wished her eyes hadn't adjusted to the dim light.

To say he looked bad would have been a terrible understatement. No, he looked _dead_. His clothes, normally so clean and precise, were rumpled, haphazard, and stained. His skin was ashen, his hair was tangled and unwashed, his lips were chapped and cracking. His eyes seemed to have sunk into his skull and he stared straight ahead with an unfocused, glazed expression, as if he wasn't aware of her presence at all.

She swallowed, taking a step closer.

In a sudden flurry of motion, he was on his feet, backing away. His eyes, now focused, were wild, glinting in the low light, darting around the room. From her, to the door, back to her.

"Rhys...?"

He just shook his head frantically.

She held out her hands to him. "Rhys, it's okay—"

"D-d-don't. P-please." His voice was hoarse, his breathing labored. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me? You saved my life..." She started forward again. "Why would you—"

"S-stop, please, just—just stop," he pleaded, still shaking his head and backing away from her. "Fiona, p-please..." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Please...please..."

Her gut clenched as he looked up at her, desperation evident in his eyes. "I...don't get it," she admitted softly.

Rhys forced out something between a laugh and a sob, but didn't offer any other answer; just kept shaking his head. After a long minute, he drew in a ragged breath and broke the tense silence. "I can't control it." He raised his left hand; slowly, looking at it with distant eyes.

Fiona could only watch, mesmerized by the erratic flashes of bright blue that twisted down her lover's arm.

"Can't control it," he repeated, softer, more to himself.

"But aren't—"

"NO! _You don't get it_."

The change of tone was enough to snap her out of whatever daze she'd fallen into. He was staring directly at her, and for the first time, she felt something cold creep into her chest at the sight of his mismatched eyes. The intensity and focus unnerved her. He looked...dangerous. Feral.

Yet it passed in an instant. Almost so quickly that she wasn't sure she'd actually seen it.

"You know about Jack's daughter," he began, voice soft, once again watching his arm with that far-off expression. "She was a Siren, too. You know what she did?" He glanced up at her briefly. "She killed her own mother. When she was just a little girl. Because she _couldn't control what she had!_ "

Just like that, the edge was back and Fiona found that _she_ was the one stepping away this time.

"You saw what happened to him. The man who..." He cut himself off with another strange noise. "There wasn't even enough of him left to leave a bloodstain..." Again, he made eye contact, but it wasn't like before. All Fiona could see this time was pain. "I won't let that happen to you."

"It won't, Rhys—"

"You don't know that!" he barked. "You...you can't p-possibly know t-that." He took a few shaky steps backward and collapsed against the wall. "I'm s-sure Angel loved her m-mother...a-and yet...that wasn't enough t-to keep it from happening, was it!? Sh-she killed..." He dissolved into tears before he could finish the sentence, sliding back down to the floor.

Fiona drifted across the room, falling weakly onto a couch, feeling totally helpless for only the second time in her life. Only this time was somehow worse than the first. The man she loved was literally falling to pieces right in front of her and so far, she hadn't been able to do anything to stop it, despite being here, with him, capable and willing. Lilith had said he hadn't eaten since that day out in the Badlands. That had been three days ago.

"Rhys."

Nothing but sobbing.

"You're going to end up killing yourself," she whispered.

"S-so let it h-happen," was the broken mumble. "You'd a-all be b-better off..."

She drew in a sharp breath, unsure if he was being self _ish_ or self _less_. "You have to help me understand. Please."

He blinked up at her, tears glistening on his face.

"When Helios crashed, people died. What makes one man so different from all—"

"Because it was _me_ ," he cut in. His voice was surprisingly level. "Helios was Jack's fault. But that man out there in the desert? _I_ was responsible for that. _I…vaporized_ him. I didn't even have to _touch_ him! It's inside me, and I don't want it—"

"He was trying to kill me, Rhys!" she countered, standing again. "You weren't going to let that happen! You were protecting me!"

"I don't want this!" he screamed. "It hurts, okay?! It feels like I have _acid_ in my veins and I would gladly bleed myself dry just to _make it stop—"_ He doubled over onto his hands and knees with a moan, gagging up nothing but raw air and bile.

Fiona couldn't watch. She shut her eyes and waited until the coughing stopped to open them again. "Tell me how I can help."

He didn't answer for a long time. Just stayed there on the floor, shaking, sobbing, looking so small. "You can leave."

"I'm not leaving—"

"Fiona...p-please."

She shook her head firmly. "I know you think there's no way out of this, but you're not doing yourself any favors by—"

"I already told you!" Hysteria was starting to creep into his voice. "You're not safe around me!"

"I am _not_ going to leave you here like this—"

"Get out!"

" _I love you, Rhys!_ "

"GET. OUT!"

A hush fell over the room as they stared at each other. That same animalistic intensity was back in his tear-stained eyes, but this time, it didn't scare her. It broke her heart. He _truly_ thought he was taking care of her. Slowly, she backed toward the door. He didn't say anything, just watched her go.

The click of the latch was too loud in the quiet and she simply stood there, her heart pounding against her ribs. She'd never seen him in so much pain before. And what made it worse was the fact that it wasn't only physical pain. This was deeper. This was something she couldn't heal. She was losing him because he hadn't wanted to lose her.

Setting her jaw, she turned back, grabbing the doorknob. She couldn't let him do this to himself. They hadn't come all this way to—

The knob wouldn't turn. "Rhys?! _Rhys!_ " She tried again. Still stuck. "Dammit, Rhys, I _won't_ let you do this! I'm going to get Lilith!"

There was no answer. Even his crying had quieted. However, she heard one last hitched sob before a deafening gunshot pierced through the thick air. When her ears stopped ringing, all she could hear was silence.


	7. The Daring Truth

**A/N:** My life has become increasingly busy lately—graduating in six months!—but I wrote up this little thing. It was sitting in my idea bank for a while, and I finally decided to do it, since it was short and easy and fluffy. So yeah, not much to say about this one other than it's Team Awesome (and August) and some of their shenanigans, based on the long-running joke that the crew was going to play truth-or-dare at some point in the game. This is set about a year after the ending, but that's not really too important to the story.

Many many many thanks to those of you who have reviewed/faved/followed since the last chapter: **FanFic derp, Farky-Fark and the Munky Bunch, EinIII, DbA, Trifectum, azuravael, TheSocks, GoldenEnderHawk, Leisangou, SpaarklingSparrks, AnonymousStalkerFriend, nathaneal . bender . 9** (without the spaces, I just didn't want FFN to think your name was a hyperlink), **grnugroho, wierdfishes,** and **Delta VT**!

 **Disclaimer:** 'Twill ne'er be mine.  
 **Read, enjoy, review, and share!**

* * *

"No, no, you can't back out. You already picked one." Rhys nudged Sasha's hand away from the slips of paper in the center of the table. "You're stuck with what you got."

"I'm regretting it already…"

Across the table, Vaughn shrugged. "How bad can it be? Can't be worse than that night we all played strip poker...right?"

"Says the guy who actually had abs to show off," Rhys muttered.

Vaughn grinned. "If I remember correctly, everyone was too interested in your ink to pay attention to me."

"Yeah, that was the problem."

"Strip poker was nothing." Sasha fiddled with one of her earrings. "You all might think _I'm_ the mean one, but you don't know half the things Fiona dared me to do when we were kids."

"Heh, ask her about the skag sometime," Fiona chuckled, leaning back with a smirk.

Sasha glared at her. "You promised you'd never bring that up again."

"Technically…" The elder sister took a long swig of her beer. "...I didn't."

"Not gonna lie, I'm actually kinda curious right now." August put his drink down and glanced at Sasha. "Feel like sharin', babe?"

"No, forget I ever said anything."

He snorted. "Like hell. Y'know...I can think of a lot of dares involving skags and...uh, they're all disgusting."

"Yeah, well, you're not wrong."

Fiona kicked her feet up on the table. "Ask her how many times she washed her clothes after she did it. Or how long she was in the shower." She leaned over to Rhys without waiting for anyone else's input and answered the question herself...in a very exaggerated whisper. "Hours. She was in the shower for _hours_ …"

Sasha slumped forward with a groan. "Okay. Fine. I'll do your stupid dare. But," she lifted her head and leveled a hard stare at both Rhys and her sister. "You two have to do something first."

Rhys glanced at Fiona out of the corner of his eye. Up until now, she'd been relatively nonplussed by everything that had happened—the fourth beer had really been the point of no return—but Sasha's comment had effectively stopped her with her drink halfway to her lips.

"And you're gonna do it together."

Rhys watched as Fiona slowly lowered the bottle to the table. The past few months had been...precarious, to say the least. He would have assumed that once he and Fiona started dating, things would be easier—no more veiled innuendos or less-than-subtle attempts to leave them alone together—but if anything, it was even more difficult. It turned out being in a relationship added more fuel to the fire than _not_ being in one, so the teasing got worse. And...significantly more sexual.

The disturbing combination of determination and mischief on Sasha's face only reinforced Rhys' longing for normal friends. Friends who would have congratulated him on "getting the girl" and left it at that. Then again, the fact that the friend in mention was the sister of his lover made things decidedly more complicated. "What'd you have in mind?" he asked warily.

"Each of you has to say two things about the other that no one else here would know." She sat back and crossed her arms, expression morphing into smug satisfaction. "Good luck."

"Um…" He looked at Fiona. Sasha was her _sister_ , they'd known each other since birth; how could he come up with something that not even she would know? Unless...no. No, he couldn't do that. Especially not for the sake of this stupid game.

Fiona sighed, picking at the label on her beer bottle. "I'll go first, since you obviously need time to think of something."

"Yeah, sure, fine. Just...don't…uh..." She turned to look at him, a small smile on her lips, scarred eyebrow cocked just so slightly. To anyone else, she may have looked genuinely—maybe even _innocently_ —confused. But Rhys knew better.

"Don't what?"

He narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything. She knew _exactly_ what, and the implication should have been _more_ than apparent. Unfortunately for him, she ignored it. And if that wasn't enough, she gave him a cheeky grin right before finishing off whatever was left in the bottle of alcohol. His stomach sank.

"He is… _extremely_ flexible. And yeah," she tossed the empty bottle to the side. "I mean it in the way you all think I do."

Rhys could feel his face getting red the minute the word 'flexible' left her lips. He should have known she'd do the exact thing that he'd sworn to himself he _wouldn't_ do.

"And," she continued, "when he was a kid, he didn't actually want to wear tacky suits and rule the world. He wanted to be a singer." She smirked at Sasha across the table. "There. Done."

"Wait, what?" Vaughn frowned. "You never told me that."

Rhys rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah...it didn't last very long. And it was before I met you. I was, like, five, and I liked to sing…" He shrugged helplessly. "I mean, I still do, but… I don't know, it's kinda embarrassing."

"More embarrassing than the _other_ thing we just found out?"

"Well, um…she wasn't supposed to—"

Fiona snickered and nudged his shoulder. "Your turn."

Rhys took a deep breath. If she wanted to play like this, sure, he'd play. "She always fights to be on top, but secretly loves it when I hold her down to keep her from getting there. And yeah," he turned to Fiona. "I mean it in the way you all think I do." The silence that settled around the table was one of the most sudden and absolute silences Rhys had ever witnessed. Everyone was just...staring. Not at him, either. Fiona looked like she wanted to be swallowed by her hat, and for once, the color in her cheeks was _very_ noticeable. "She also likes the way I write my signature." He sat back and crossed his legs with a grin.

A long minute passed before anyone moved. Sasha finally tore her eyes away from her sister, combing her fingers through her bangs. August picked up his beer, stared into it, and put it back down. Vaughn's forehead connected with the table.

"Alright," Sasha finally conceded. "I walked into that...and you win. So here goes the dare." She shrugged off her jacket, but stopped halfway through pulling her shirt off over her head and glared at Rhys. "Don't even _think_ about recording this."


	8. Still

**A/N:** It's been a crazy few months since I last posted, guys. But I'm almost done with my second-to-last semester of college. I'm actually going to be walking in the ceremony on Saturday, but I _officially_ graduate at the end of summer session, assuming I pass all my classes. Anyway, just wanted to update you with why I've been kinda off-and-on lately. More off than on. But I digress.

This…was a totally random little idea that came to me late one night while I was listening to music and probably (I can't remember) trying to work on something for school. As usual, I got sidetracked and let my brain wander and this is the result. It's short, it's kind of dark, it's one of my many headcanons, it's very barely Rhyiona, and it's written from Rhys' point of view.

 **Spoilers for the ending of Tales, so if you don't want to know about one of the major events in the finale, don't read this.**

Neverending thanks to the following people who chose to show their support: **dhorvat, EinIII, FanFic derp, Felanie, rhythmking, FiresofAnarchy, Hannibal Barca, ARavingLooony, SuicidalMuppet** , and **Heatdoom**. I know it may not seem like much to you, but every little bit of love from you all brightens my day, so thank you again.

 **Disclaimer: Not mine. Belongs to Gearbox, 2K, and Telltale.  
** **Read, enjoy, review, and share!**

* * *

I hate it.  
I can't hide anything from her. She knows me too well.  
Knows when I'm lying.  
God knows she's seen what _that_ looks like.

What's worse is that I'm terrible at hiding pain.  
So on the days with the headaches or the nerve spasms, she knows.  
She knows I'm not okay.  
She probably doesn't know why, but that hardly matters.  
All she sees is what I feel.

But the worst part of all of this?  
Jack.  
Jack is still winning.  
Jack is still in my head.  
Still in my body.  
Still forcing me through sleepless nights.  
Sometimes I swear I still hear him laughing.

I'm sure he never expected me to go to the lengths I did to get rid of him.  
To tear him out of me once and for all.  
But I'll be damned if he didn't somehow plan this.  
If he didn't somehow make sure that the only way he'd go out was also the only way to keep torturing me.

He'd spent enough time in my head.  
He knew what kind of damage it would cause.  
Begged and pleaded for me to stop.  
But he knew.  
Once I ripped the wires out of those nerves; severed the connection to my brain...  
...he knew I wouldn't be able to go back to normal.  
The bastard _always_ had a backup plan.

So now I'm stuck like this.  
Functional, but miserable.  
Dizziness.  
Fatigue.  
Random pains.  
Joints locking up.  
Occasional blackouts.  
It reads like the back of a pill bottle.  
Just a big list of symptoms and side effects.

I'm sure they warned about this kind of thing before the operation.  
Not that I paid attention.  
It was all in fine print in the insurance paperwork, anyway.  
And when was I _ever_ going to tear anything out?  
Not accidentally.  
Not sitting behind a desk.  
And definitely not on purpose.

"...serious injury without proper medical removal," it had said.  
Oh, excuse me, doctor, would you mind taking the psychopath out of my head now? Thanks.

No.  
It would never happen like that.  
Jack wasn't just going to lie down and take it.  
He never did.  
He was going to go down fighting.  
Like always.

And I wanted him gone.  
And it was all or nothing.

And he still manages to haunt me.


End file.
